This is a blog detailing the creation/evolution/ID controversy and assorted palaeontological news. I will post news here with running commentary.

Friday, March 06, 2009

Catholic Church Goes on Offensive Against Atheism

Yahoo news reports from the latest Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Vatican. While it has become clear that the Catholic Church has—depending on who is speaking at the time—embraced evolution or has accepted a "Mexican Standoff" position with regard to it. They are quite clear on atheism, as practiced by people like Richard Dawkins, however:

But while the Vatican did not exclude any area of science, it did reject as "absurd" the atheist notion of biologist and author Richard Dawkins and others that evolution proves there is no God, he said.

"Of course we think that's absurd and not at all proven," he said. "But other than that ... the Vatican has recognized that it doesn't stand in the way of scientific realities."

The Vatican under Pope Benedict XVI has been trying to stress its belief that there is no incompatibility between faith and reason, and the conference at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University was a key demonstration of its efforts to engage with the scientific community.